Cannabis in Ancient Greece: Smoke of the Oracles?

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

POT TV – Was marijuana the smoke of the oracles in Ancient Greece?

Cannabis historian Chris Bennett talks to Dr. Carl Ruck, Professor of Classics at Boston University, and Dr. David Hillman, who holds the combined degrees of a Ph.D. in Classics and a M.S. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin, (where he studied the medicine and pharmacology of antiquity) as well as other scholars, about the role of Cannabis in the ancient Greece.

Topics discussed include:

• The influence on Greek ritual practices from the Scythian and Thracian shaman, known as ‘Kapnobatai’, meaning ‘smoke-walkers’, who were known to fumigate themselves with cannabis smoke to achieve ‘ecstasy’.

• The potential role of cannabis in the cults of Aphrodite, Orpheus, Apollo, Hera, Dionysus and other ancient Greek deities, along with the potential ritual use of cannabis at the Oracle of Delphi and other sites.

• The alleged archeological find of ancient hashish at the Nekyomanteion (a place for consulting the dead) on the River Acheron (one of the most famous entrances to the netherworld) as discussed in the book ‘Mysteries of the Oracles’ .

• The use of cannabis infused incenses and wines in ancient Greece, with a discussion on Homer’s ‘nepenthe’, as well as a look at lotions and ointments that were applied vaginally.

• The various names cannabis may have been known by during the classic period, and much more.

Written, Directed and Produced by Chris Bennett at www.forbiddenfruitpublishing.com

with some assistance from www.kush.ca

Music

Orpheus’s Lyre: Lament For Solo Lyre
in the Just Intonation of Antiquity
Michael Levy
www.ancient lyre.com

“HYMN TO THE SUN”
By Mesomides of Crete (130 AD)
Performed by Michael Levy
www.ancient lyre.com